Monday, December 28
Scripture: Matthew 2:13-15
Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

ON THE RUN

The poignant lyrics in the featured song, “Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace, to a place where we'll be safe” are words Mary and Joseph could have prayed as they fled to a strange country from a political tyrant with murderous intent. But the romantic (at least it sounds that way to my ears) Italian might not convey the anguish refugees feel. What would this song sound like in Aramaic, the language Jesus’ family spoke and the language some Syrians still speak? Can we hear this song in Somali, as people flee Somalia’s al-Shabab; Arabic, as Iraqis escape ISIS, or Dari, as Afghans are on the run from the Taliban? Can we hear the words in Dinka, Lingala, or Sangho as people from South Sudan, Congo, and Central African Republic run from civil war? What about persecuted minorities pushed out of their homes in Bhutan or Myanmar, singing in Nepali or Rohingya? Can we hear the song in Spanish, sung by Salvadorans and Hondurans desperate to escape homicidal drug violence? Can we hear “I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go” in the out-of-breath voices of people running for their lives, in the dry and cracked voices of people floating on a sun-burnt sea or trekking across a desert?

Looking at the video, interspersed with paintings and photographs, we are reminded that our current refugee crises are just the latest among disasters that have occurred generation after generation since biblical times. Sadly, escaping from violence, war, or economic collapse seems to be such a common human plight that it was included in Jesus’ incarnational experience. Jesus, able to empathize with our weaknesses, is also able to sympathize with human suffering. How often would He have heard from His parents the story about fleeing from Herod’s thugs and waiting for a political change before returning home? Perhaps they prayed together as a family these words from Psalm 4, “You alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark… the barrel of a gun,” writes Nairobi-born, London-raised Somali poet Warsan Shire. If we have suffered in this way, what a comfort it is to remember Jesus too knew this pain. Even if our grief just comes from repeated headlines and news images, we can find solace in the fact that our God sees, hears, and feels—and will ultimately bring His people home.

PRAYER
Lord, may all who have had to leave their homes find places of safety, where they can rest their bodies and souls. May we who live in safety open up space for refugees and respond with generosity to their needs. May You keep us from being governed by fear. May You strengthen and encourage those who serve displaced persons, who work to ensure just and stable governments, and who work for peace and reconciliation. May You guide each one of us with Your grace.
Amen.

Kitty Purgason, Professor of TESOL, Chair of Applied Linguistics and TESOL